Special
Pivot
535High
90Moderate
BTier

Porygon-Z's Normal typing gives it an immunity to Ghost. Only 1 weaknesses on top of that — it has plenty of safe switch-in opportunities. Adaptability adds more value on top. Known as the Virtual Pokemon. Its damage comes from the special side.

Porygon-Z's built around special offense. Sp. Atk leads the charge, Defense pays for it. Tough to catch, worth 3 Sp. Atk EVs. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
535High
HP85
C
Attack80
C
Defense70
C
Sp. Atk135
A
Sp. Def75
C
Speed90
B
Total535
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Porygon-Z yields +3 SpA
HPAtkDefSpA+3SpDSpe
Details
Catch30Difficult•Medium Fast1M XP•0.9m / 2'11"•34kg / 75 lbs•241Base XP
Pokedex Entries

A curious item induced this evolution. The Pokémon’s offensive capabilities have greatly increased, but the strangeness of its behavior has magnified in equal measure. This worries me.

Legends Arceus

Porygon Z Weakness

Good

Type-wise, Porygon Z takes extra damage from Fighting. Ghost moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. With 85 HP and balanced defenses, Porygon Z can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.

4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
Fighting
½xResisti
None
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
Ghost
STABi
No super-effective STAB
1Weak
0Resist
1Immune
Scorei+1
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
AdaptabilityIncreases the same-type attack bonus from 1.5× to 2×.
DownloadRaises the attack stat corresponding to the opponents' weaker defense one stage upon entering battle.
AnalyticHAStrengthens moves to 1.3× their power when moving last.

Porygon Z is one of 2 ways Porygon's chain can end. This one takes the trade route, while the siblings go different directions. Breed through Porygon to get eggs. Porygon Z edges out Porygon2 by 20 total stats (535 vs 515). Sp.Atk is where most of the advantage lives.

How to Evolve

2 Evolutions
Porygon
#137Porygon
Porygon2
#233Porygon2Trade + Upgrade
Porygon-Z
#474Porygon-ZTrade + Dubious Disc
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Porygon
Normal
Porygon2
Normal
Porygon-Z
Normal
HP
65
85+20
85+20
ATK
60
80+20
80+20
DEF
70
90+20
70
SP.ATK
85
105+20
135+50
SP.DEF
75
95+20
75
SPE
40
60+20
90+50
BST
395D-Tier
515B-Tier+120
535B-Tier+140
ROLE
Trick Room
Attacker
Wallbreaker
TYPE
Special
Special
Special
Breeding
Challenging

Breed with Porygon-Z to get Porygon eggs (with patience) using 23 partners from the Mineral egg group.

Egg Groups
Mineral
Gender
GenderlessDittoDitto only
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Breed With (best first)
avaluggglaliefroslasssnoruntbergmiteporygon2bronzongmagnezoneporygon-zprobopassgolemelectrode
12 of 23·

Nothing fancy here. Porygon Z builds around Normaliumz for extra utility, Timid nature for the right stat lean, and max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs. Adaptability does its job quietly.

Best Build

Legends: Arceus uses different battle mechanics.

Competitive build content is not applicable for this game. Select a main series game for builds.

Porygon Z's movepool balances level-up moves with TM options. Consistent STAB comes from Hyper Beam and Giga Impact, and coverage across 7 types keeps opponents from switching in for free. No major gaps here.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Tackle
4010035Normal
Lv 5
Thunder Shock
4010030Electric
Lv 9
Thunder Wave
—9020Electric
Lv 15
Spark
6510020Electric
Lv 21
Tri Attack
8010010Normal
Lv 29
Thunderbolt
9010015Electric
Lv 37
Recover
——10Normal
Lv 47
Hyper Beam
150905Normal

TM Moves

Porygon-Z can't learn any TM moves

Egg Moves

Porygon-Z doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Aerial Ace
60—20Flying
Tutor
Charge Beam
509010Electric
Tutor
Dark Pulse
8010015Dark
Tutor
Giga Impact
150905Normal
Tutor
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
Tutor
Ice Beam
9010010Ice
Tutor
Icy Wind
559515Ice
Tutor
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
Tutor
Power Shift
——10Normal
Tutor
Psychic
9010010Psychic
Tutor
Rest
——10Psychic
Tutor
Shadow Ball
8010015Ghost
Tutor
Swift
60—20Normal
Tutor
Thunderbolt
9010015Electric
Tutor
Tri Attack
8010010Normal
Tutor
Zen Headbutt
809015Psychic

Porygon-Z's 2-stage line starts with Porygon, which appears at decent rates in the locations below. Level through 2 stages while you find a trade partner. Everything except the trade step is solo.

Trade Evolution Required — Requires trading with another player

Where To Catch Porygon-Z in Legends: Arceus

  1. Porygon
    Step 1Catch Porygon
    Space-Time Distortion - Crimson Mirelands
    GrassUncommonDistortion
    EASY
  2. Porygon-Z
    Step 2Porygon-Z ✓
    Space-Time Distortion - Crimson Mirelands
    GrassRareDistortion
    CHALLENGING
    or evolve from Porygon (Step 1)

  • Don't let Porygon-Z's 535 base stat total fool you. Adaptability is what makes it tick — it punches way above its weight class. We rate it B-Tier as a pivot.

  • Porygon-Z's biggest threats include Blaziken (Fighting), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

  • Porygon-Z can evolve into Porygon2 and Porygon Z depending on the method. Porygon-Z is the base form in a 3-stage evolutionary line.

  • Run Adaptability on Porygon-Z. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Porygon-Z also gets Download and Analytic, but they don't compare.

  • Porygon-Z fills the pivot role. It's a special attacker with base 135 Sp. Atk. Base 90 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.

  • Porygon-Z appears in 14 games, including Platinum, HeartGold & SoulSilver, and Diamond & Pearl.

Porygon Z has been available in 14 games since Diamond & Pearl, though obtaining it requires a trade evolution. This extra step makes it less common than Pokemon found through standard wild encounters.